Artemis' Lullaby for the Lost
by Tigressa101
Summary: How exactly did she lose her mother? Well, it wasn't pretty but it also never left her. [Her mother did die this way but the rest of her family didn't so this is an alternate take on her mother's death.]


Artemis remembered the incident like it was only a day ago. Her parents were alive and her mother had decided to take a simple stroll down the block with her. A peaceful, normal day that turned into a nightmare.

"Sweetheart, why are you so tense?"

Artemis sighed, "I just have a hunch that something's not right."

Her mother chuckled, "Don't you always?"

"Maybe you're right, "Artemis answered.

The night seemed to stare down upon them, watching their every move. She couldn't help but stick to her previous thought. Something was wrong.

Before she could spark a new conversation, the ground began to crack and split apart with houses crumbling under pressure.

Artemis then saw something moving below the surface as the cement separated. Two red-yellow eyes narrowed at her; for once, she was frightened as the stare felt like daggers shredding her to bits.

The mysterious creature moved slightly but then suddenly disappeared into the shadows.

Artemis didn't know what to think until she felt something slam down behind her and her mother, and a loud crunch followed. The wave of concrete knocked her down, but she was unharmed and more concerned about the noise.

It seemed like the noise had come from everywhere at once, but that thought was pushed from her mind as screams echoed from afar.

She watched as people came out of their houses and pointed towards her like she was a murderer, then it hit her.

Artemis glanced towards her mother who was behind her and stood frozen in place. Her blue-eyes widened as she observed blood leaking from her mother's lower body.

Her mother's upper half was covered by monstrous jagged teeth and a pair of eyes she had just seen.

Suddenly, the remaining half vanished into the jaws of the beast who smirked at her expression.

Artemis' own eyes couldn't help but view the attacker; it was almost tiger-like with dragon parts but it was made of metal. She kept watching it in horror until it spoke.

"Oh, what's the matter, my dear? Never seen a predator devour her prey before? Well, there's a first for everything," It smugly hissed with a voice that sounded like a mixture of a male's and female's.

That thing was a "she"? Artemis couldn't believe it.

As she continued to stare dumbfounded, the monster turned away and snapped her sharp dentures on the nearest human other than Artemis.

The monster then proceeded to chase after a few more until it dived back into the Earth with a sickening blast.

Artemis eventually came out of her trance and let the anger flow through her like lava. "Come back and fight, you coward!"

As soon as she said that, another disturbing crack rang out and before she could do anything, she was face to face with the tiger-dragon who was still smiling.

"A coward, am I? Tell me, my dear, what do you plan on doing now? Insulting me with Earth threats isn't going to help your situation," she whispered.

Artemis growled, "I'll hunt you down until you're a trophy upon my wall!"

"I would love to see you try. In the meantime, I think I should pay your family a visit for your rude behavior; minus well test out how accurate mind reading is."

"No!" Artemis screamed but it had no effect on the tunneling monster.

In fear, she immediately ran towards her home, but slid to a halt as she gazed at the wreckage of her home. Tears soon stained her uniform as well as the cement below her.

They were gone: her mother, father, younger identical twin brothers, and her little baby sister.

"I will get you, do you hear me! I will kill you!" She yelled but they turned into sobs mid-sentence.

All she could do was sit there on the cold, damp ground as the police arrived.

Years later, she had grown accustomed to Tigressa's killing sprees and feeding habits. Only one year after the incident did she gain one of the tiger-dragon's teeth as a weapon. Since then, Tigressa had grown another in its place and hasn't doubted the girl's abilities.

She would kill the monster, even if it takes her the remainder of her life. Or if she gets killed first.


End file.
